What do you think?
Rate this book
The Indoor Boy
Leon has fled not only South Africa, but also Judaism and the gay scene, settling in London and marrying an English schoolteacher. Living on a diet of booze and drugs he finally meets another white South African and is forced into a world more wild than any he has ever known.
- GenresFiction
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
39 people want to read
About the author
Antony Sher
25 books24 followersSir Antony Sher, born in Cape Town, South Africa on June 14th, 1949, was an actor, memoirist, playwright, painter, and novelist, best known for his performances of Shakespearean characters like Richard III, Macbeth, and Sir John Falstaff. He has performed in plays by such writers as Molière, Chekhov, Brecht, Arthur Miller, Mike Leigh, and Harvey Fierstein, and has portrayed historical figures as diverse as Primo Levi and Adolf Hitler, Benjamin Disraeli and Ringo Starr. In 1985 he received the Laurence Olivier Award for his work as Richard III, and again in 1997 for Stanley.
His writings include novels, plays, and memoirs, including Year of the King: An Actor's Diary and Sketchbook, his account of playing Richard III for the Royal Shakespeare Company, called by actor Simon Callow "the most wonderfully authentic account of the experience of creating a performance."
He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2000.
In 2005, Sher and his partner – director Gregory Doran, with whom he frequently collaborates professionally – became one of the first gay couples to enter into a civil partnership in the UK.
His writings include novels, plays, and memoirs, including Year of the King: An Actor's Diary and Sketchbook, his account of playing Richard III for the Royal Shakespeare Company, called by actor Simon Callow "the most wonderfully authentic account of the experience of creating a performance."
He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2000.
In 2005, Sher and his partner – director Gregory Doran, with whom he frequently collaborates professionally – became one of the first gay couples to enter into a civil partnership in the UK.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 23, 2021
The gross cover gives a fair indication of what lurks inside.
The ‘Indoor Boy’ is Gertjie, otherwise Marius, for whom our narrator Leon, Jewish Afrikaans, and his wife Angela, lust. A very comely youth on the surface, Gertjie is an enigma, to say the very least.
Set in London and South Africa as apartheid was beginning to crumble, many of the characters are bloated and excessive. The book provides an interesting insight into the world as it was c 1990, from all sides of the divide. I’m not sure what Antony Sher was dipping his pen into at the time of writing but it was no ordinary ink!
Leon’s pa, Chaim, is an interesting character, gross and pissed like many of the other characters – Jewish/Polish/Afrikaans with a hint of Turkish, but oddly likeable as aged delinquents can be. He seemed to avoid extermination by the Nazis. After all, according to Chaim, they were only interested in ridding the world of Jewish commies!
Strange ending and a rather unsatisfying read.
The ‘Indoor Boy’ is Gertjie, otherwise Marius, for whom our narrator Leon, Jewish Afrikaans, and his wife Angela, lust. A very comely youth on the surface, Gertjie is an enigma, to say the very least.
Set in London and South Africa as apartheid was beginning to crumble, many of the characters are bloated and excessive. The book provides an interesting insight into the world as it was c 1990, from all sides of the divide. I’m not sure what Antony Sher was dipping his pen into at the time of writing but it was no ordinary ink!
Leon’s pa, Chaim, is an interesting character, gross and pissed like many of the other characters – Jewish/Polish/Afrikaans with a hint of Turkish, but oddly likeable as aged delinquents can be. He seemed to avoid extermination by the Nazis. After all, according to Chaim, they were only interested in ridding the world of Jewish commies!
Strange ending and a rather unsatisfying read.
March 13, 2014
This book is 'un-put-down-able', but I have savoured it in short bursts to make it last longer! I have really enjoyed reading it.
This novel, set in the UK and South Africa is: funny, ribald, outrageous, raunchy, and at the same time quite serious.
The novel is set during the apartheid era. Leon, a wealthy South African, living in north-west London is married to his English wife La. She is a typical example of a white liberal concerned about the evils of apartheid. When Leon goes to a South African airline booking office in London, he meets Gertje, a real 'Boer', who is mysterious about his past. Leon and La are both attracted to Gertje, and this attraction is reciprocated.
Just after Gertje leaves their lives, Leon and his wife fly to Cape Town in order to celebrate Leon's parents golden anniversary. When they arrive in the midst of the South African winter, nothing goes according to plan. A series of peculiar situations lead to Leon, his wife, and his father driving into the depths of the South African wilderness. There, another series of incidents lead to the finale of the novel which is a true cliff-hanger.
Antony Sher writes with flair. He tells a gripping tale that never flags. He provides a fascinating insight into the mindsets of both pro- and anti-apartheid persons. His observations of well-meaning white English liberals are both perceptive and entertaining. This novel also helps the outsider understand a little of what went through the minds of hardened supporters of apartheid.
This entertaining book is essential reading for anyone interested in having both a good laugh and also in learning about South Africa before Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island.
Review by author of "ROGUE OF ROUXVILLE" & "ALIWAL", both set in 19th century South Africa.
This novel, set in the UK and South Africa is: funny, ribald, outrageous, raunchy, and at the same time quite serious.
The novel is set during the apartheid era. Leon, a wealthy South African, living in north-west London is married to his English wife La. She is a typical example of a white liberal concerned about the evils of apartheid. When Leon goes to a South African airline booking office in London, he meets Gertje, a real 'Boer', who is mysterious about his past. Leon and La are both attracted to Gertje, and this attraction is reciprocated.
Just after Gertje leaves their lives, Leon and his wife fly to Cape Town in order to celebrate Leon's parents golden anniversary. When they arrive in the midst of the South African winter, nothing goes according to plan. A series of peculiar situations lead to Leon, his wife, and his father driving into the depths of the South African wilderness. There, another series of incidents lead to the finale of the novel which is a true cliff-hanger.
Antony Sher writes with flair. He tells a gripping tale that never flags. He provides a fascinating insight into the mindsets of both pro- and anti-apartheid persons. His observations of well-meaning white English liberals are both perceptive and entertaining. This novel also helps the outsider understand a little of what went through the minds of hardened supporters of apartheid.
This entertaining book is essential reading for anyone interested in having both a good laugh and also in learning about South Africa before Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island.
Review by author of "ROGUE OF ROUXVILLE" & "ALIWAL", both set in 19th century South Africa.
September 15, 2012
Didnt finish this really couldn't be that sympathetic to the characters, maybe I was in the wrong frame of mind. Sher is a good writer nonetheless.
Read
August 6, 2016Naughty and with that uniquely SA flair.Worth it but definitely for the open minded.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews